The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2021-12-08 - Minutes -CITY 4F FAYETTEVILLE ARKANS �Rr��sas MEETING MINUTES Fayetteville City Board of Health 12/08/2021 4:30 p.m. Virtual Meeting Members: Hershey Garner, Lenny Whiteman, Huda Sharaf, Gary Berner, Stephanie Ho Ex-Officio Members: Meredith Lowry, Richard Taffner, Lance Reed, Lioneld Jordan, Brad Hardin Health Officer: Marti Sharkey Guest: Kit Williams, Stephen Boss 1. Call to Order and Roll Call — Hershey Garner, Chair (5 minutes) 2. Approve minutes a. Motion to approve minutes as submitted by Huda Sharaf i. Seconded by Lioneld Jordan ii. Motion Passed 3. Testing discussion a. Stephen Boss — Not a lot of updates on the trendline i. Very complex to graph now with all the current variables b. Home test kits are available now at Walmart and Walgreens i. Suggested that you test yourself before large family gatherings c. Dr Sharkey spoke to a professor about wastewater treatment testing i. Not currently testing sewers for the virus d. Less that 1 % of tests are being sent in to check for the Omicron variance i. Department of health is having 2% tested for the variance e. 90% of the test results are still the Delta variance f. Vaccines are showing to be effective against the variances g. Washington County has now had more than 500 deaths h. Cases per 10,000 for 14 days — 17 i. 115 in area ICU; 55 Covid cases in area hospitals 4. School status discussion a. On November 8, 2021, there was 4 cases in Fayetteville Public Schools b. On November 15, 2021, they opted out of the mask and now there are 22 cases involving students; 4 staff are infected i. That is up 150% c. Rate of infection was up 25% in schools that did not have a mask mandate d. The University of Arkansas is still requiring masks next semester, and will re- evaluate it in the Spring of 2022 e. Rise in flu cases has been seen over the past 2 weeks 5. Vaccine discussion a. Have seen an increase in the vaccination rate in the area b. Fayetteville has 47% of the entire population vaccinated Mailing Address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 n Washington County has 51 % of population with at least 1 dose The volunteer core is starting to get very weary i. Some Pharmacies are no long taking walk-ins; must make appointment Other Business a. Masks i. Fayetteville City Council has decided to end the mask mandate on December 23, 2021, and not tie it to any metrics. i. This coincides with the end of the school semester ii. Dr Sharkey is going to email the City Council regarding the current cases, numbers, and the boards recommendation if the cases exceed the 30 cases and more than 100 hospitalizations iii. Discussed if the Flu would be a reason to keep the mask mandate a. Enforcement would be hard ii. Omicron Variant i. Lots of unknowns still ii. 2 doses alone may not be enough iii. If you have had a prior infection, there is very little protection iv. Omicron variant is more transmissible that the Delta variant v. Discussed any services/housing that the University of Arkansas is supplying for the S Africa students. a. Currently they are not doing anything different iii. Flu cases i. Last week, Arkansas had its first flu death of the year ii. 30% of cases are in children iii. 40% of population is vaccinated which is lower than last year iv. Update on City contract with the City's Heath Officer i. Contract is with Dr. Sharkey for her review v. Crutches i. Low supply of crutches in the area due to the supply chain a. Walker Heart will take any crutches and clean and sanitize them to be given out to those that need one. vi. Regeneron is in short supply i. Will check with the Board at WRMC to see how their supply is vii. Working with NWA Council to add a QR code that can be scanned for proof of vaccination records rather than having a card to carry that can be lost i. Could be a pilot program for Northwest Arkansas to try out viii. Next meeting is scheduled for December 22, 2021. i. May be postponed if nothing new is happening a. Will make call on December 20, 2021 ix. Stacy Ryburn i. Just clarifying that even though there is no mask mandate, people should still wear masks? a. The purpose Board of Health's should be to make recommendations, based on best medical advice, not to enforce or make mandates. Adjourn